Whether from a current employee, former employee, job applicant, customer, business associate, another company, or simply a passer-by, virtually every company that stays in business for any number of years will face a lawsuit, employee fraud, or some other unexpected loss that is covered by a comprehensive business insurance plan. No matter what your business, you need insurance to protect from these very similar dangers, but the right type of insurance policy may differ greatly depending on the size of your business and the particular industry in which it operates.

Big Business vs. Small Business Insurance
Needless to say, business liability insurance is a must for big, medium, and small businesses, but for slightly different reasons. Whereas big business has more assets that need protection against unexpected losses and legal action, a comparable setback for a small business could easily be enough to bankrupt the company without the protection insurance provides. Likewise, until you get into the details of these insurance policies, it's difficult to appreciate how the way your business is structured—sole proprietor, partnerships, corporations, and limited liability company—affects what type of insurance you need. Specifically, it's worth pointing out that even if you've set up a limited liability company, chances are that, without small business insurance, you still retain a significant degree of personal liability that threatens your personal financial security.

Creating an Insurance Policy for your Business
When designing a policy for your business, you have the option of buying multiple insurance policies that create customized, though piecemeal, protections for your business activities. Alternately, you can buy comprehensive coverage—known as a business owner's policy—in which several protections are piled into a single policy. Here's what you need to know about the basics of creating an insurance policy that's right for your business.

• Business Liability Insurance: For most businesses, this is the bedrock of protecting your company's finances. But what you may not yet realize is that business liability insurance is itself broken down into different types of protection. Commercial general liability will provide the main form of liability coverage including claims that involve injury, property damage, and advertising. If you're lucky, this liability insurance will be the only kind you need, but many businesses will need either professional insurance to provide coverage for claims that result from the specific services your business provides or product insurance to provide coverage as it pertains to the products your business produces.
• Business Owner's Policy: Although these policies may somewhat limit the flexibility you have when choosing specific insurance products, the comprehensive coverage of a business owner's policy is nearly always cheaper than buying several individual policies. And, just as important, this single policy avoids the common mistake of double-paying for coverage that frequently occurs with overlapping, independent policies. The best solution for small business insurance is often one of these business owner policies. Large corporations typically have enough purchasing power that insurance companies are willing to custom design insurance products for the unique needs of these businesses.
• Supplemental Insurance for Businesses: Many businesses need to purchase some type of supplemental insurance for unique and specific business activities. Farmers, doctors, lawyers, and home improvement contractors are just a few examples of professions, business owners, and independent contractors that often need small business insurance that's tailor-made for their specific industry. To this end, trade associations are an excellent source of information for industry-specific insurance needs. Even if you've decided on a business owner's policy, many of these policies fail to include worker's compensation and commercial auto insurance. Similarly, you may have the option to add supplemental insurance to a business owner's policy but only if you explicitly opt-in to these supplemental provisions.

Find Online Insurance Quotes
As a savvy business owner with a keen sense of marketing and overhead costs, you probably don't need much convincing that shopping online is the most efficient and, thus, the least expensive way to find and buy business insurance. Of course, you also know a seemingly great deal can also turn into a scam, if it doesn't deliver on its promises. At Local Insurance, we provide the best of both worlds. It takes but a minute to submit a basic request for online quotes, allowing you to immediately comparison-shop from reputable, licensed insurance companies. But we also connect you with experienced insurance agents capable of discussing the finer points and possible modifications for a policy that best fits your insurance needs, risk-profile, and financial vulnerability.